Make Me Scream
by MariaPurt
Summary: Takes place in 6.23 ep, and has spoilers for seasons 5 and 6. While Karen is intorragated she tries to hide in her happy memories. Video on youtube: /watch?v itm4eUifhns
1. Part 1

Karen tiredly watched her monitor go dark, still feeling hope it was some mistake and it would be back to normal in a moment. It wasn't. She hesitated for a couple seconds and then took her phone and dialed Bill who was surprisingly happy to hear her voice, even after what she'd done to him earlier.

She looked at her monitor again, as if the miracle could still happen and the access denial signal could simply disappear. Bill told he had Jack with him. She knew he'd do whatever it takes to do exactly what was needed. She knew she couldn't do it any better than Jack and Bill. And as long as that little boy was safe from his sociopathic grandfather, as long as Jack would take care of his father and the whole situation with that microchip, Karen knew it wouldn't matter how bad the things would go for her personally afterwards.

The two men entered her office, one of them calling her:

"Miss Hayes?"

So she told Bill she loved him, and turned off the phone. Slowly getting up from her chair, she bit her lip in hesitation. Just for a moment, she wondered why she never tried to leave the building? That chance could be taken, and there was the possibility that no one would stop her, had she just left moments _before_ these guards were sent. Then again, she wouldn't want them to have any further questions to Bill, or to his loyalty, or regarding the ways he got the information about Jack. If everyone knew for sure it was her helping him, no one would be panicked.

Karen walked towards the guards, and froze standing 3 feet from the door, when one of them pulled the handcuffs out of his pocket. She felt shivers in her spine. Cuffs? For her? In the White house? That perhaps was the way of showing her she was no longer anything but a traitor to them, with no authority and no power.

"That won't be necessary," she spoke in a low tone trying to sound calm. "I'm coming with you."

She thought it wouldn't work, it shouldn't work actually, but it seemed like these men knew nothing about what just had happened and what she'd been arrested for. Was it respect for a national security advisor? Was it just confidence she wouldn't try doing anything on their way? Karen didn't know as she watched the guard still holding the cuffs in his left arm. Amazingly he turned around and left the room. The second one waited for her to follow, and them walked out and closed the door. The three of them went through the hall and down to the security area.

As Karen walked into a dark room where all the furniture consisted of a table with two chairs, she again thought of Bill. Would he succeed? Could actually just two men make difference? She sighed. Deep breath taken, while still approaching the table. She'd keep her fingers crossed for Jack who'd proven to know exactly what he was doing, no matter how hard anyone would try to stop him. Now however, it was his own family at stake. Karen could clearly remember the last time Jack was forced into the middle of a crisis. Not that he actually had any choice, but what shocked Karen at that point was how much his colleagues trusted him. It didn't matter if they'd be sent to prison, or if they could get killed – they simply did what they believed to be right for this country. She remembered Chloe escaping from the custody, risking everything, and Bill helping her even thou he didn't have to be involved.

Bill. He was surprised to get her call back then, warning Chloe. And as Karen would do everything and anything to keep him unharmed, he didn't seem to care if that would work. 'I'll make him talk' she remembered saying, not yet sure what she'd do next, just wishing to keep him far from the angry agents who wouldn't of course break Bill, but would definitely hurt him. Was it when she walked thru the door into his cell, not yet sure what to do, that she first felt this sympathy? He looked at her, his eyes wondering and empty at the same time. And even thou he was sitting there then, knowing she'd do anything to make agents believe she wasn't on his side, Karen could see his eyes smiling at her. 'Karen…' 'Shut up, Bill' she cut him then, almost two years ago. Who could know that by the end of that terrible day they would all be still alive and well? She knew she broke every existing law when she started helping him and Jack then, but it appeared to be the right thing to do. The difference however was there too. She wouldn't be ok this time as she took the biggest hit. Nor would Bill be since he was already under the investigation and this would end up his hopes for a normal life – with or without her. As well as Karen knew he'd do anything to get to her, she also knew what was coming next. She'd be questioned and then given to the FBI for… whatever.

Still sitting at the table, she felt the agent standing at the door watching her curiously. It couldn't have been much time since she came in here, so why was he looking at her this way? Karen jerked in realization her eyes were wet. What the hell? She took a deep breath trying to calm down. There was nothing she could do now except for waiting, she'd done everything she could, Karen told herself. She just remembered she didn't have any sleep for the last 30 hours or so, which could easily explain why her head was so heavy and dizzy. So she tried to keep her thoughts on the better times and places, blocking her mind from the fear.

Why did Bill ask her for the breakfast? They'd known each other for so short time, and yet after everything they experienced that day, they felt so close. She suffered every word she had to say to him with her 'No' response, and hoped Bill wouldn't give up so soon. And so he didn't. He'd send her that funny parrot, even knowing she'd not be able to keep it. But the bird was so fun in the morning wishing a good day in six different languages, that Karen's heart melted. And in a week, Bill and Karen had a beautiful diner together, laughing and talking, and laughing again…

The door made a sound and went open to let the Vice President in. Karen shook her to get back to the reality and got up. The man walked past her slowly, thoughtfully. He was angry, disappointed, yet not understanding what had happened and… and something else, she could tell but couldn't quite surely tell what exactly it was.

***


	2. Part 2

The Vice President asked Karen if she knew why she was detained. He knew the answer, as well as she did. He asked her if she'd admit to giving out the secret information, and she nodded again. Just like she planned, Karen was now trying to get all the responsibility and all the possible consequences. But the Vice President seemed only irritated with her honesty. He clearly wanted revenge, even not yet admitting to use this word. Of course, she'd betrayed him today, and this wasn't the first time she'd done that. But Karen was doing what she considered best for the country, and by now she promised herself to never regret it.

"You know that if Jack…" she did try to listen to what the man was saying, but her mind was far from here… "Any blood will be on your hands" he finally said and left the room. Now what? She felt her heart jumping in her chest. She couldn't make the Vice President believe she was right even after she left him no other choice – now, there was no way back to the normal life.

As a thought came to her mind, Karen tried to understand what the word 'normal' means for her, and it was not the simplest question of a day. Could she even consider her marriage to be normal? She and her husband worked for the government, risking and knowing what that risk was. It was understandable that any day, any minute the phone could ring and there would be that simplest and hardest thing to hear 'Your husband's dead'. She however never considered the possibility of him getting the very same call since Karen was even more of a table agent than Bill. But in just two months after their wedding she realized she could as easily be the one leaving Bill alone in this world. That evening she didn't call her husband as she usually did once on her way home. She wanted to get there before he would, and get some rest. They spoke in the early afternoon thou, and as it was Friday, Bill asked her out to the movies. She'd agreed, and thus needed to get some sleep after a 14 hour working day. Karen drove home, and checked the clock – still 2 hours before meeting Bill. She put her head onto the pillow and it was a sweet feeling of the upcoming sleeping, but in a minute she heard something (or someone) breathing right above her head.

Before she could open her eyes to see Bill standing over her, she had to understand: it wasn't him. Whoever this man was, he grabbed her by the neck not giving her a chance to roll onto the spine and see him. Karen tried to resist and her face was immediately pushed even deeper into the pillow so that she wouldn't either make a sound or see the attacker. It felt like he climbed on top of her spine, still keeping her breathless with her nose in the pillow, and pushed her hands tightly behind her back. That hurt. She tried fighting back, again, and again it didn't work. Karen desperately needed air, her lungs making her hate the pillow and her heart beating faster with every second. Not only she felt pain in her spine as someone heavy was still on her, but the shoulders were on fire and the hands felt like broken. She'd scream if she could make a sound. Then a new thought crossed her mind, as Karen tried to stop panicking: it wasn't just one attacker, he wouldn't be able to do it all alone. And it didn't seem like a rubbery either. Or did it? Perhaps that would be the easiest and safest explanation. But somehow Karen knew it wasn't it.

By the time the men turned her around so she could finally breath in, her vision was blur, and the woman started coughing. She felt her arms secured behind and as she tried to slightly move the feet, they appeared to in the same condition. Even before she stopped coughing and could make a sound, they placed the damn pillow onto her face.

Even now, sitting in a White House and waiting for whatever her ex-colleagues thought she deserved, she could still remember the horror she'd experienced that night. She couldn't see, she couldn't breath, and most importantly she didn't know what would happen next.

_Just like now_, she thought, her heart beating faster. Somehow, she remembered Audrey Raines, and the shivers went up her spine. Back then, she knew Audrey could hardly be a traitor, and if it wasn't for the chaos and the panic, if it wasn't for an extraordinary time limitations, she'd never order to torture one of their own agents like that. But they were all under a lot of pressure, and Karen made herself trust there was no other choice. '_Tell me everything'_ Jack demanded then and Audrey, scared and exhausted swore she did tell him everything. Jack believed her, as did Bill. But not Karen. She wanted to know for certain. And as her head was now all dizzy and sleepy, her mind wondered if there was someone out there guessing whether she told everything or not. Would anyone try to protect her now, here? Tom Lennox maybe as he'd promised her to not stop her from whatever she'd do to free Jack. But Tom would most likely be worried for his own good and well. And he had things to hide, not willing anyone to know he actually did push her into this kind of a treason. It would be even enough for her to change her mind and tell them he did know what she was going to do. He knew and he didn't try to stop her. Tom had to be nervous, and thus, he'd be on her side. Hopefully.

So, who'd be the bad cop this time? There's got to be someone who'd suspect she didn't tell the whole truth. Someone could suggest she didn't do it alone in the White House. So Karen wondered, her mind traveling from office to office there in the White House, her head leaning down, closer to the table, heavy… Restless…

And then the door went open again, letting a young woman inside accompanied by a man pushing a small plastic table with the wheels, full of different things on it: syringes, bottles, devices… It looked like Tom lost his fight for her, just as Jack did for Audrey because of Karen.

Quite fair, she grinned to herself, bringing her head up and trying to imagine Bill standing near. How is he? Is he still alive?

TBC


	3. Part 3

The young woman watched Karen for a couple seconds before saying with a bright British accent:

"Hello, Miss Hayes. My name is Sarah and I have some questions regarding your today's treason," she paused, nodded to the man who stood behind Karen, and continued calmly. "I don't like hurting people and that's the reason I was sent to question you".

The man was still doing something at the plastic table but Karen couldn't see what it was. The questioner continued:

"You may want to take your jacket off, Miss Hayes" she signaled to the man and he immediately approached the woman. Karen got up slowly, still watching the two she'd never seen before, then took off her jacket and handed it to the man. For a moment she looked back at the plastic table to see what the man was so busy with – it seemed like he'd turned some equipment on, but those were all the changes so far.

"Please, have a seat" Sarah spoke again, and Karen wondered when the pleasant part would be over. She sat on her chair, which didn't have any armrests or anything she could be restrained with, and crossed her hands on the chest. Deep breath.

"I ask you to reconsider your previous statement, miss Hayes, regarding the involvement of the other personnel of the White House in your… performance. Who else knew you were going to give away the information about Jack Bauer's dislocation?"

"Nobody" Karen shook her head slowly.

"Who helped you release Jack?"

"My husband, Bill. But he only did that because" the woman paused deciding whether she could still tell a little lie before they'd put her to the lie-detector, "because I told him that was an order." Her heart was racing now.

"What other information beside the one regarding Jack, did you give away?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"We've ran a search thru your system, and figured out you'd accessed many high level security documents lately…"

"I'm the advisor, I have to check all the Intel coming into the White House" Karen interrupted the speaker, but the woman seemed to ignore it as she continued:

"…many of which weren't needed by your current occupation. So the question is…" she didn't finish her statement, letting it hang up in the air. "Look, Karen, they know Jack's release wasn't the only thing you were involved in today, so you better start talking. Please" he tone sounded like a real begging.

"Sarah, I only did what I did. And I was the only one who'd make a choice even knowing it wasn't my call. But I'd never done anything that would compromise today's situation any further."

"You leave me no other choice, miss Hayes" Sarah spoke. "Please put your arms on the table… Alex," she nodded to the man and he immediately brought her two syringes, something that looked like a bracelet, and some wool. He then placed a middle size device on the table just in front of Karen who still kept her hands crossed.

"Hands on the table" young woman demanded while approaching the chair Karen sat on. They watched each other for a moment, and then the older woman pressed her arms to the top of the table, sighing. What looked like a bracelet was now placed on Karen's wrist and appeared to be the lie detector thing. She was also wired to a bigger device that would control her heartbeat. She felt a ghost of panic, but forced it back. She did everything she could, and there was nothing she tried to hide. It wouldn't take long for them to realize it, she hoped.

Sarah slowly took one syringe and injected Karen's hand – just between the fingers. The woman jerked feeling sharp pain of the needle getting through her skin and forward; breathing faster, she subconsciously tried to free her hand and moved away from Sarah just a little. They haven't cuffed Karen yet, and thus she would be able to jump off the chair any moment. That could mean anything, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. Trying to control her body and knowing she'd not escape too far, the woman relaxed her body as much as possible. Her arm and the shoulder were already on fire, and she felt her neck burning. It took all the strength not to move as Karen knew it wouldn't help. The drug was already in her blood, and once moving she would only cause herself even more pain.

Finally, Sarah spoke. It looked like she read Karen's voiceless question in the woman's eyes.

"You know it's inevitable" she paused. "We wouldn't want any marks on your wrists, so there's not going to be any bounds. You will be the one restraining yourself since you probably understand by now that any movement makes it worse. This is how it works. You are a high ranking agent, so I trust you will behave wisely. Do you understand me?" she lowered her head closer to Karen's face looking for the answer.

"Yesss" Karen whispered, her whole body on fire. She could barely breath, in and it took all of the possible force to breath out.

"You know exactly what we're about to do, so there's no need in explanation. I will not threaten you because you already know we will stop once you've answered all our questions." Sarah silently watched the woman who seemed to be close to pass out, her head moving slowly lowering to the sides and shaking slightly.

Karen closed her eyes, willing the pain to go away, even knowing it wouldn't help. They wouldn't let her pass out, and it required all of her energy to sit still in that chair, the impossibly strong need to hide her head in her arms. For a brief moment Karen felt her body nearly sliding off the chair and had to immediately open her eyes and check the surroundings. Why wouldn't they just treat her as an usual prisoner? Why not securing her hands to the damn chair or the table, or whatever, so she could relax and hang on the bound?

Was it agony that brought her to the very thought of regretting this whole day?

Breath in. Breath out.

Her eyes flew open again as the second needle was pushed into her skin near the ear. Sarah told the truth – they didn't want any marks of the interrogation on Karen. Not in the White House perhaps. As the liquid was injected and the woman felt it running in her blood, she experienced the déjà vu: the same ear-near injection back the night she thought she wouldn't survive…

After her face was covered with a pillow, and she'd thought it was the most pointless end to the Homeland agent ever, she felt one of the men injecting her with something, just behind her ear. Within a moment she'd felt the pillow removed, but for some reason she could no longer open her eyes. It was the paralyzing drug she'd thought as someone was dragging her out of the room. She also felt being put to the car back seat, or at least something similar to it. The men still haven't made a sound. How many of them were there? Two at least, but it could as easily be three or even four.

It was clear this had to do something with her job at the Homeland Security. But as well as both _she_ and _they_ knew that nobody would negotiate for her life, they wanted her alive. There's got to be something they were doing it for. And as the car was driving her in the unknown direction, she became certain it was Bill Buchanan, her husband, they were after…


	4. Part 4

TBC

In what seemed like an hour Karen was pulled out of the car, and from what her blurry, half-shut eyes could see, they were headed to some yacht. How long would it take for the drug to vanish from her blood? She could slightly feel her shoulders being cold as she wasn't dressed, and her nose breathing, and finally, Karen managed to move her fingers a little.

The man was carrying her on his shoulder, her head hanging down, and she couldn't see much, as he stopped in front of the boat and spoke to someone:

"As planned."

"Good" the other male voice responded. "Put her in the cabin… How long before she's back?"

The man started walking and turned around to answer. Was it indeed too dark for Karen to see their faces, or was it the drug affecting her eyes?

"Half an hour, maybe more. We used a little doze" he finished and stepped onto the yacht.

The water was calm, and the boat didn't shake at all. As soon as they reached the cabin, the man dropped Karen down to the coach and placed a bag on her head.

"Wha…" she tried speaking, but the sound was too weak. Laying down on her spine, with her hands right under her body, Karen wondered what made these people put a bag on her head. Was it because they weren't going to kill her? She felt the boat moving. Or because she'd recognize them? Could these people be known? It had to be that way, because they knew exactly when to attack her and how to do that not to get caught.

The next thing she could remember was Bill's voice on the speaker. The kidnappers contacted him, and from what Karen could hear, they wanted him to release someone from CTU custody. Or, they threatened him, they'd kill his wife. By now, Bill already knew something was wrong, as Karen didn't meet him after work, didn't come to the movies, and didn't seem to be in their house either. The apartment itself looked normal, but the fact that the door was open, seemed weird too.

"What have you done to my wife?" she heard him sounding via the speaker.

"Nothing bad, so far. But if you don't let him go, this will be a very memorable night for your spouse."

"I want to talk to her" Bill said after a silence. "Now."

Someone approached Karen and pressed the phone to her ear. They knew she'd not be able to speak loud. How on earth did they know she'd be able to speak at all?

"Talk" the male voice demanded.

"Bill" she nearly whispered.

"Karen, is that you?" she heard on the speaker. "Are you okay?"

"On a ship" she was able to spell before they'd take the phone away. She still had a black bag on her head, and couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear Bill swearing to haunt them down if they hurt her. The men laughed.

"You've 2 hours before she learns to swim with a rock chained to her neck, agent Buchanan."

Karen felt another injection, and opened her eyes in shock to see Sarah standing over her. Did she pass out? No, of course she didn't, otherwise she'd be on the floor right now. The memories seemed so close, and yet the present was even closer. As another wave of pain overwhelmed her, she dropped her head onto her arms on the table to suppress the hurt on the face. She moaned. How long has it been since Sarah started the procedure?

"Miss Hayes, talk to me please" Sarah's voice sounded over her ear. The heart was beating too fast, and the machine beeped to signal the critical force. Where the first injection was made, Karen felt the second needle coming in and not coming out. What was that for? She'd just got another doze of the drug, and the head was still resting on her arms. "Miss Hayes" Sarah repeated as the machine was still indicating the cardiac arrest would soon happen. "Who else in the White House is involved?" Sarah spoke again, dragging Karen's left hand from under her head to place the needle there too. This time, as Karen could feel it, both needles stayed in her arms, which meant she'd be getting smaller dozes of the drugs and the dozes of the sedative at the same time. This would definitely not let her pass out.

It felt like she was running, and drowning, and burning at the same time. Karen didn't feel the chair she was sitting on, nor felt she the floor her feet were touching.

"Who was involved?" she heard Sarah's voice, again and again. But she could barely keep her own body from falling onto the floor, and it would be too much to try responding. Finally, she tried:

"Nobody…" Karen's voice broke. It felt like she was being betrayed now – for all those years she worked for the government, and now it wasn't important. It was of no value to them. She shivered as this was how Bill felt when she told him she'd have to fire him from the job he'd devoted his whole life to. "I swear, nobody" tears started down Karen's cheeks as she raised her head to face the younger woman.

The tears tasted salt on her lips, just as the ocean water did when the kidnappers thrown her into the water back then, right after Bill arrived with the prisoner they wanted released. Before that, she was put in the box of some kind, so that Bill wouldn't see her before he handed the freed the guy. He'd asked where his wife was, and the men laughed at him. By the moment her husband was screaming her name to find her, Karen's mouth was tapped and she could make no sound even knowing he was so close. She could hear the gunfire, and was sure it was Bill's backup team, or maybe the whole CTU army covering him.

Then the fire stopped and Karen could hear him calling out her name again, and again there was no way she could let him know she was so close. He ordered the team to have the place torn apart but find her. After what seemed to be forever someone moved the box she was in, and it… it just fell into the ocean as they were far from the shore. Karen felt the water filling the box, and she'd soon be dead, having her husband up on the yacht and not telling him she loved him so much. Karen felt her lungs aching as the water didn't give her any air, and from what she could feel, she died…

But it wasn't it – the next thing she knew was someone pressing his lips to her mouth, trying to make her breath. Then pushing her chest, counting, breathing her mouth to mouth again.

"Oh God, Karen, please" she heard Bill's breaking voice as he kept massaging her heart. "Please, don't leave me…" She didn't move, nor did she open her eyes. She just couldn't.

"Does anyone have the electroshoker?" Bill shouted at the agents around who tried to stay away and not interfere. Someone handed him the device.

"Sir… it can kill her" the agent began.

"Then charge it for minimum" Bill said in icy voice, and was about to hit Karen with the electricity when she coughed and rolled to her side. Still coughing, she opened her eyes to see Bill, all wet and shaking. "I thought I lost you" he said hugging his wife. He was crying, as well as was she.

"I love you" she said to Bill once she stopped coughing. "Love you so much."

He pulled her away from him to see her face. They were still sitting on the ground close to the ocean, shivering from the cold wind, but no longer being watched by the agents who were now busy with the new prisoners, their guns and the yacht full of explosives.

"I love you too" he finally spoke, touching her messed hair gently and pulling it off her face.

"I knew you would come for me" she smiled weakly.

"In sickness and health… till death…" he started, but wasn't able to finish as she leaned in to kiss him.

Sarah's voice brought Karen back to reality.

Karen found herself being supported by the male agent, Alex, if she recalled correctly, as she nearly fell off the chair. Her body was shaking heavily and she could no longer control herself. She was tired, she needed sleep. She needed rest. Karen jerked in the agent's arms as if trying to escape. The wire to the polygraph dropped as the woman moved, and so did the needle in her left arm. Sarah slammed the other hand to the table to prevent the second needled from falling.

"It can all be over" the young agent spoke, her voice calm. "Just tell us what information you gave away."

"I don't know" Karen breath out. "I don't." She was breathing fast and heavy, still trying to resist, unwillingly. Sarah watched her closely and then let go of her hand, turning around and stepping back.

She took her cell phone and dialed the number.

"Sir, it's Sarah. I think we're finished… No, I'm sure. .. I know, and usually 50 minutes isn't enough, but I've seen it… Yes… I do, sir… Of course." She put the phone to the pocket and came back to the plastic table to get a small bottle.

Karen was still being held by the male agent, still jerking even not being injected anymore. She could see the woman filling another syringe from a new bottle and she could feel panic overcoming her.

"It's the antidote" she heard. "Do you understand me?" Karen nodded. This meant the interrogation was over and they'd make sure no drug stayed in her blood. She didn't break. Tom owed her so much now. As the pain was vanishing she became worried again. Bill. How is he? Karen didn't ask. When she finally stopped shaking, Alex stepped aside, putting their stuff back onto the plastic table. Within minutes the two agents left her alone in the room.

The antidote worked really fast and within minutes she was able to get up. Karen walked the cell back and forward, nervously. It's been an hour since she talked to Bill, or maybe even more. There had to be some news out there. He couldn't die, not now. Not like this. And even knowing she'd not see him any soon, Karen wanted to know he was alive and well.

It wasn't long before the agent came into her room and told her Bill had succeeded. He managed to save the situation. The micro chip was destroyed, and the boy was safe. All she wanted now was – no, not sleep, that, she thought, was no longer important – Karen wanted to talk to her husband. That wasn't yet going to happen.

TBC


	5. Part 5

_The final part of the fiction. I know it's kinda creepy ;D And i know you maybe wanted that sex scene in the end, but here it is. What do you think?_

Part 5 ;D

***

After Tom came into her cell and told her she was free to go, it felt like the whole world danced. At first, Karen couldn't believe it. The second thought, thou, considered it Tom's paying her back for not telling anyone he was involved in Jack's escape. Well, so far, Karen thought, they were even.

She filled the resignation papers as fast as nobody did that before.

She left the White House and then called Bill, making sure no one would see the conversation. He didn't answer at first. Karen was driving home to pick up her cloths and leave to meet Bill. To go to the real home, she thought. Finally, she heard her husband's voice in the phone:

"Karen?" She sighed.

"Hello, dahling" her voice trembled. "How are you?"

"Better than you are" he seemed to smile sadly. "I've been told they dropped all the charges" Bill continued without any pause. Karen sighed. Tom didn't joke, and from what she could tell, her husband was a free man.

"Who told you?" Karen began. "I mean, I… I'm so happy to know you're okay and I… I have the plane in an hour. " Her speech was getting fast with every word – as if she didn't want Bill to have a chance to stop listening to her. "And there are lots of things we'll have to talk about when I get back home, and I… I'm sorry, sweetheart," she finally paused.

"You've already said that before, remember?" Bill sounded somewhat distanced.

"Will you be there when I come home?" asked Karen.

"I'm sorry, what?" Bill was taken aback by her question.

"After everything you've been thru today… after everything I've put you thru… I…" she started explaining herself.

"Karen," suddenly his voice trembled. "You thought I was going to leave you? I'm angry, but not insane. And what I want to discuss right now is if you feel okay."

"Yes," she replied quickly.

"Then this dialogue is over. And I am looking forward to seeing you. When does your plane arrive? I'll meet you at the airport."

She told him the time and laid down the phone. She knew it was going to be a hard conversation between the two of them. Somehow she felt she was about to start crying, again, and the tear went down her cheek as she parked her car at the airport. Before leaving, she checked her face in the mirror to see her makeup was gone, and a pale exhausted face looked down at her from the mirror.

As soon as Karen felt the plane's seat under her body, she knew she'd not wake up before they landed. She desperately needed these hours of sleep. So the next thing she could see clearly was Bill meeting her, his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses, his face as tired as hers was. But he was there, for her.

Karen didn't feel good, more of sleepy and sick, and dizzy. She'd handed him her bag, and as he turned around to lead her to the car instead of hugging her, she'd even been glad about that: no strength was left in her body, and she now knew exactly how the ghosts felt themselves.

They silently walked to the parking zone, and got in the car, still saying not a single word to each other ever since she landed. They sat in the car silently, she didn't look at him, he didn't look at her. Moment after moment, her vision was becoming clearer as the frightening thought crossed her mind: was it the end to their marriage? She hoped that Bill had meant it when saying he wasn't insane to leave her. Has he changed his mind? Has she done something wrong again?

Finally, she turned her head to face her husband and that was when he hugged her as strongly as he could without breaking her ribs. She gasped with surprise, reaching her hands out to hug him too.

"I missed you so much" he said to her ear, smelling her skin, and moving his hand from her spine to the hair. "When I got back to CTU and Nadia told me you were suspected of not less than treason, and that you'd be prosecuted as a traitor, the whole world collapsed in my eyes" Bill was still holding her close to him.

"You were as risked, Bill. Even more," she whispered, feeling her spine aching as she was sitting in a very uncomfortable position. "And yet you saved a lot of lives today."

"We saved" he stated, then pulled her away to look at her face. Karen's eyes were a little wet, but somehow she was still holding on. Bill studied her for a minute that seemed to last forever, and then started the car. They drove in silence, none of them capable of talking and maybe somehow afraid to break what seemed to be a forming peace.

Once parked, Bill pulled out the bag and opened the front door for Karen to enter the house. He remembered her sleeping on their way home, and him cursing at every driver who'd signaled and had a chance of waking up his wife.

"So…" Bill turned on his feet to help Karen with her jacket. She seemed a little more rested than previously, watching him curiously.

"So…?" she wasn't sure what he'd meant. He took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

"What did they do to you, sweetheart?" he finally asked, and his voice broke.

"Excuse me?" she raised her eyebrow, then put off her blouse revealing her black bra. Karen searched the surroundings to see the wardrobe and heading to it. It's been a long time since she was last here, and it all seemed new to her. As Bill was still silent, trying to pick up the right words, she took a robe and put it on. Then, she removed her pants, dropping every piece of her clothing onto the floor.

"Well, since I do know how the traitors are being treated…" Bill came closer to her and touched her cheek. "What did they do to you, Karen? You look… you _feel_ wrong. Not like you. Was it drugs?" he watched her wince as a thought crossed her mind.

"Do we really have to discuss it, Bill?" she asked sadly, sitting onto the bed. "We haven't seen each other in three months, and now you want to play a psychology game with me?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart" he leaned in to kiss her on the lips softly. "But you haven't been to the field in a very long time, and haven't undergone any kind of the interrogation for over a decade. I wish this will never happen to you again, but as for now I really need to know what it was and thus what consequences it might have," his voice was tender and yet serious.

Karen sighed. She hated to admit her husband was somehow right – he had more experience in this kind of… things as his job involved a lot more of it than hers as the Director of the Homeland Security or the Advisor.

As the pause was getting too long, Bill continued:

"Some drugs may still be in your blood, and they may cause a heart attack if you are too active," he counted, petting her head. "Your mood might switch… You might be fevering…"

"Okay, I get it, Bill" she cut him off. "There was nothing like that" she said softly. "They simply asked question and I answered. I had nothing to hide, and they pretty surely knew that."

He smiled broadly, bringing up her arm to his mouth for a light kiss.

"You are a talented liar, dahling" he choked. Pointing her at the small bruises on her arms just where the needles were. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. You know that, right?"

Bill hoped it wouldn't be this hard for him. He surely knew his wife was a stubborn, and very tough. She would never complain, and as far as he knew her for the last two years she proved to be nothing but strong, both emotionally and physically. She of course didn't want him to know anything, either being embarrassed or not wishing her memories to go back there. She used to be a higher ranking agent than he was, and even thou she was his wife, their previous life bounds could still be present.

He pulled her closer to his body, feeling her breathing fast and trembling slightly. Her face remained blank, but he could feel the storm was coming.

"I missed you so much, Bill" she started, then paused, her face lighting with a smile. He didn't say anything back. He knew she'd talk eventually, and his best choice was to wait. "I didn't see that coming" she spoke again, putting her head onto his shoulder. "I thought they knew me better than that. They nearly broke me, Bill" this was when she started crying, her face blushing, her hands shaking. He'd never saw her like that, always rational and straight, she was now more like a… like a human, he finished his thought.

As Karen kept telling him all the possible details, he began to wonder if he really knew his wife as good as he thought he did. Where did this woman gain her strength and power from? As she knew exactly which drug would cause what effect (theoretically, he hoped, at least before this event), Karen named at least 4 drugs that could and _would_ make a field agent talk.

From what he could hear, she was a little messed up with the dozes she was given back then, but he already knew everything he needed to. There weren't any damaging aftereffects he couldn't prevent. He'd make her stay in the bed for the next week to make sure she doesn't get any infection in the street because her immune system was down. He'd try to minimize the mood changes to lower the risk of the heart problems.

Bill got up and went to the table, pulling a small bottle out of the box. He opened it and dropped a little of a dark liquid to the spoon, then sat back to Karen and handed her the spoon.

"Drink this please" he kissed her forehead.

As soon as she did so, he continued:

"Good girl" he smiled, and she smiled back, closing and opening her eyes. "I swear, I'll make all the possible, impossible and unthinkable to prevent any of it from happening to you again… But I want you to know one thing that can help withstand torture," he shivered at the word. She looked up at him, nervously.

"Bill, we're both retired. Nothing can happen now..."

He continued: "Scream. Don't hold it in. It kind of makes the nerve system shut down in some way. Just don't play a hero, which I know has been always hard for you" he laughed.

"Oh…" Karen got up. "That I know back from the FBI school. But they wouldn't make me scream, Bill," she smiled at him. What was it in her smile that made Buchanan wonder what she'd been up to? Did the medicine he'd given her already take its effect making his wife feel better? "It's been a very long time" Karen continued, her eyes getting brighter and tears disappearing. "And you know, telling you everything... really helps…" she teasingly unbuttoned his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Bill asked somewhat confused, looking at his wife as she finished with his shirt and pulled it off.

"Well, I was hoping we could…mmm… relax. And catch up some time that we've missed…" she now unzipped his pants. "Maybe… you will make me scream after all?" she smiled half tiredly – half seductively and pushed him slightly onto the bed, climbing on top of him, still working out his pants.

"You're sure you want this?" Bill murmured watching his wife as she nodded. He then grabbed her by the arms and rolled over to have her under his body, pressed tenderly to the bed. He kissed her on the lips, then caressed her cheek before his hands made their way under her robe and pulled it up. He kissed her stomach then moved down, touching her thighs gently, kissing her feet, and then moving up to find her smiling. She reached out with her hands and pulled Bill close enough to kiss him on his lips. Then, as she felt him getting between her legs, she whispered:

"Make me scream, dahling…"

**THE END.**

_So, I have a couple more ideas for the fan fiction about Karen/Bill. Anyone interested? Oh, btw, this is the first time I finished smth in English that was longer than 2000 words! Yay me. Feed back is love. Well, if you either hate me or this piece of fiction, please take a second to let me know too! Deal? Thanks!!!_


	6. INFO!

Hey guys… just wanted to let you know I've posted the first chapter for my next fiction… hope you'll like it. It's called 'Down to Earth', and is Karen/Bill too!


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